Page 263 of Light Leech

“To see if you are worthy of Pure Knowledge.

“And what is that testing like?”

“No one knows.”

He laughed. “So you follow this mess of a trail for just a chance? Why the zeg would you have to kill someone to gain access?”

“Because the Pure Knowledge administration identified your group as impediments to its perpetuation.”

Boyband scoffed. “Definitely Gongtide.”

Kalacia looked unsure. From what I could surmise, she was just another hopeless self-proclaimed scholar caught up in something larger than she understood.

“Let’s take a step back. Pet. Tell her about the therapist.”

I began to recount the experience, leaving out most of the personal details to highlight my experience with the pseudo-past.

“And there was a black presence around it,” I said, “just like you had.”

“Just like you had,“ she replied. “You’re all using Light Leeches, too. I saw the light emanating from you in our little encounter. I have no idea how you got yours, but–”

“How did you get yours?” If she believed that we had one of her false Gui, we might as well let her. She didn’t need to know anything more about us.

“It was a reward for one of the first steps. You can’t just apply for Pure Knowledge testing with a simple bounty. Each step of this path is an endeavor of its own.”

“You didn’t answer my question. How did you get yours?”

“You pass a chameleon test. Prove that you can blend into society as a reputable person with advantages. You can’t just pass with the look, but you need the knowledge and personality, as well.”

“So you posed as Sanna?”

She scoffed. “No. That was only a way to get to you. I was an insurance broker. I worked for a month to help a client of Pure Knowledge evade taxes and launder lumens without a trace. Help the Knowledge, they help you, but it’s not a one-time ordeal. Once I passed that, they implanted me with a Light Leech and the associated education needed to use one, hoping that I could pass this step.”

“Which you failed,” Boyband said.

She glared at him.

He laughed. “So that mind-molesting therapist used a Light Leech against my dear friend?”

“I supposed so. Every Light Leech is integrated into your body and neurospace via a brainstem implant. That is the same, but the abilities vary.”

“And where do those zegging light ghosts come from?”

Her eyes shifted from side to side.

“You have no idea! You put some zegging ghost into your mind for the promise of knowledge when, for all you know, it might be changing everything you see and take it to be its truth. Truth isn’t relative, ma’am. There is one truth and then there are those who choose to corrupt it. I might look like a kid to you, but who’s to say I’m not a Finian and that ghost of yours is changing everything you see?”

“Where did this side of you come from?” Ralia asked.

He continued without acknowledging her. “You’re just contributing to this cloud of misinformation that you–sorry, I forgot you weren’t actually one of them–that Water Hills forces upon kids! I used to make fun of those kids who had android teachers at home, but maybe they were right for not contributing to this mess! That’s what you want, isn’t it? To be another one of those dominating minds that decides what is Pure Knowledge and what should be ignored, or scorned, because you disagree with it? It happened to the Cross followers but look at them! Still standing despite the guk the world has thrown at them. Zeg you and your prideful idea of knowledge! I shit on it and hope you choke on it while you eat up their shit, too! That’s all it really is. Truth eaten by a monster, shat out, and shaped into that image these tyrants want the world to see.”

He took a moment to catch his breath, still staring at Kalacia who saw, just as we had, the frustrated scholar that had erupted from the teenager that was Boyband.

Ralia clapped. Kuni joined.

I knew he wasn’t a scholar, but I hoped this eccentric display of societal criticism showed his value.

It was a reawakening for me. Seeing the mind within the constant slang and sarcasm made me want to chastise myself for any doubts, especially those related to his conscience. It was in there, now out and screaming for injustice against the world. Perhaps I was wrong in mentally scoring him for how he was treating this woman. Still, she had no part in this. No current part, despite her intentions. He wasn’t right or wrong. None of us were. We failed and succeeded on moral and corporate ground every day. We wouldn’t stop. My only hope was that the good would outweigh the bad in the end, despite the world’s ever-changing view of what those words meant.